Lando Norris has revealed when McLaren can take another step further and contend for the F1 World Championship.
The Miami GP was a landmark weekend for McLaren, who announced themselves as contenders in F1. After spending much of last year fighting for regular podiums, the British team have taken the next step and taken victory. A significant upgrade package to the MCL38 proved effective immediately, even with limited free practice time to analyse and optimise the changes. Regardless, Lando Norris had enough to claim a maiden race victory. Moving forward, he believes World Championships are within reach.
McLaren’s exceptional upgrade production
F1 is a sport where the development race is never-ending. Teams are always pushing to find performance in the factory and the wind tunnel. Perhaps no other team has progressed in a more impressive fashion than McLaren over the last twelve months.
Andrea Stella took the role of team principal slightly over a year ago. The Italian engineer was tasked with pushing the Woking-based outfit from the midfield into the very front. Although a larger sample size will be needed to confirm their progress, the first indications are hugely positive.
Provided they can fight for regular wins this year, the next question is what they are capable of in 2025. After all, next year’s cars will be a continuation of those currently competing. Therefore, any improvements unlocked this year will be carried over next season.
Norris is optimistic about McLaren’s chances
When asked if McLaren can fight for the title in 2025, Lando Norris gave a candid response:
“100%. And I’m saying that still with my feet on the ground,” he told Sky Sports.
“As much as I said at the beginning of this year, we can win races, I want to believe – and I should have the confidence to say – next year we can go for more, we can go for the next step…
“I think we’re looking at an exciting season between us, Red Bull, Ferrari. We still have work to do, we’re not at the level they are just yet.”
The last twelve months have shown that McLaren has extremely accurate simulation tools. Unlike Mercedes or Aston Martin, their upgrades perform precisely as expected.
Because of this, it is not unreasonable to expect sustained progress in the rest of 2024 and the start of 2025. Next year’s development will be limited anyway, with many teams likely to shift focus to the 2026 regulations.
Therefore, Lando Norris makes a realistic assessment. For now, though, the question is how much lap time Ferrari and Red Bull can find with their next upgrades.
